"And so I was like here's Val's num-ber...Cam, are you listening to me?" Cammi's gaze switched from the group of girls down the hall to her associate, Gretchen. As always, Gretchen wore clothing three sizes too big. Cammi couldn't properly categorize Gretchen.
Gretchen was an all around kind of girl. She was mainly into masculine activities. But Gretchen wore makeup, even though her hair always laid a frizzy mess. What baffled Cammi, was Gretchen's makeup job, it may had been simple, but it was on point.
Also, Gretchen so happened to be dating a football player while she was into completely different things. She liked horseback riding, mudding, being unhealthy, and any other crazy time consuming activity. But that was Gretchen, and everyone loved her.
"Yeah, yeah," Cammi nodded. When Gretchen went back to talking, Cammi peeked at the same three girls. They were still tightly huddled and talking discretely, it didn't take a dummy to realize they were being quiet.
Periodically, Cammi would nod her head at Gretchen to show interest, but her mind wandered a million thoughts onto why Shelby, Michelle, and Bristle were together.
Turning her back to the three, Cammi refused to allow them to get to her. They weren't dragging her down.
Once Gretchen finished her prosaic story they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Usually, when Gretchen had a story to share, Cammi was all ears but not today. Not under those circumstances.
With those girls being together like that could mean a bumper of inevitable concomitant. It could mean they want to be friends again. It could convey that they were teaming up for or from a common source. Or it could be Lei. All those ideas, and Cammi would still be included.
Isn't this good, Cammi thought as she walked to her class. Isn't this what I want, she pestered on. Quickly, she shook her head denying it. Even if she wanted to be friends with them again, there was too much bad history. It took Cammi a long time to overcome her sensitive battles regarding them.
The light wooden door came into view up at her right, shattering her thoughts. Allowing two boys and a girl to pass by, Cammi crossed over and made her way to her math class. She never understood why it was legal to take math and science in the morning. The two gave her constant brain freeze. She would have rathered been sweating it off in the gym than multiplying. But that option was not given to her.
Her middle age math teacher stood at his desk fiddling around with his computer. As always his black hair looked more spiky than usual. It was as if it was more pointy each time she saw him. He was the only reason she liked her class. When he was not at school teaching, he was making great rock music and doing gigs. She had been to one for extra-credit. After hearing his music, she would have went just to hear great tunes. It was that exceptional.
Today he wore a white and black checkered suit jacket and black slacks. His bright red tie gave his attire the unique look, surprisingly. He wore whatever he wanted. It always shocked Cammi that he was a math teacher instead of music.
"Stuerdice, got my homework yet?" he questioned without looking.
Cammi kept walking to the five by four desk set up. Only three students were present. The overachievers. "I was too busy jammin' to your soundclound, Mr. Poletto. You understand, right?" Cammi replied sarcastically. Cammi never did homework. It was pointless.
A mixture of laughter briefly went off, then Mr. Poletto responded. "Right. One of these days you'll recognize the benefits you reap from school."
"Yeah, I mean I did come in on time. It'll only be a matter of time before I start you know taking notes and crap," she smirked. She of course knew she wasn't on time for that reason. It was what she saw that morning.
"A step to the success ladder," someone joked.
Cammi agreed before carelessly pulling out her phone and texting. Mr. Poletto never took her phone up. He once threatened to but most likely realized a quiet Cammi was better than an angry one.
Smirking as she texted her brother, Cammi switched from that to Snapchat. Not caring about the students that filed in, Cammi watched the stories without her headphones. She knew people were watching her, but she did not care. She never did.
When the bell sounded off, Cammi shut her phone off and placed it in her light brown satchel. Mr. Poletto sauntered over to the door to shut it, when someone pushed it forward.
"Well that's a first. First, my tardy student is on time and my on time student is...tardy," Mr. Polette said clearly amused. "Consider this your warning, Bristle."
Cammi intensely watched as Bristle gave a negligible nod and scurried to her seat. Bristle swung her black backpack over her head and placed it beside her desk. She then quietly took her seat, keeping her head down. Sitting a row and three seats away gave Cammi a perfect view of Bristle, even over the tallest person in their class.
She reminisced back on what she witnessed that morning. Was that why Bristle was late? It had to be. Most-everyday, like Mr. Polette stated, Bristle was in before Cammi.
Then yesterday's mind boggling event came to mind. Cammi shook as she thought about what Michelle discreetly revealed to her. Lei. Maybe that's what the girls were discussing. So did that mean Michelle actually went through with it?
But regardless, Cammi refused to forget how that made her feel. She went into a dark place over the situation, and Michelle inattentively brought it back. Cammi had left school immediately and went straight home. There she preoccupied her mind with writing as she tried her hardest to overcome that anxiety attack. It failed. She panicked, and it took her brother to calm her down.
With her eyes lowered to her desk, Cammi agogged about what Michelle and Lei possibly talked about it. Or even if she got to see Lei at all. Did Lei hate her? Cammi was sure that Lei hated her, it would be expected and suitable. Cammi would hate herself as well, if she were Lei.
She turned her back on Lei and no matter how many years passed, Cammi would never forget that painful memory. She deserted her and that was never going to leave her conscious.
A tap on her shoulder caused her eyes to shoot up to a concerned, Mr. Poletto. With one hand still on her shoulder and the other flat on her desk, Cammi looked around shocked at her new setting.
Only one student was present, and he wasn't even in her math class. Looking back to Mr. Poletto, Cammi wondered where the others went. "Where's everyone?"
Finally, he removed his hand from her shoulder and took a seat in front of her. He shifted his whole body to face her and still that worried expression stayed. "Class let out two minutes ago. You were uh...in some sort of trance. I tried waking-snapping, if those are the proper terms, out of uh those-that-do you sleep with your eyes open and blink often?"
Taken back at his explanation, Cammi took a sharp breath and tried to contain her surprise, but she obviously failed. She struggled with words to formulate, but she didn't need any, Mr. Poletto had already began talking.
"...I was thinking I should, you know, call your parents or something in between those lines."
Quickly, Cammi gathered her belongings and shot out of the seat. "I'm good, Mr. P. I am, seriously. Chill pill, dude. You're overreacting." Cammi had began walking backwards with a pace, and bumped into a desk knocking it into another. She looked behind her and hurriedly apologized with worry laced. "I'm fine, don't worry." She turned on her heels and rushed out.
Out into the clamorous hallway, Cammi took a few deep breaths and continued on down the hall to her next class. She refused to think about what Mr. Poletto just revealed to her-not yet at least.
If she did not have a Writer's Club meeting after school, Cammi would again skip school. Leaving school for Cammi was something she did often. She would sometimes just walk in when she felt like it. Cammi felt like school was just a big joke and that was her way of dealing with it.
Inside her history class, she kept a low profile unlike most days, where she'd engaged in the lesson. History was one of her favorite subjects. She enjoyed talking about the past. So why was it so hard discussing Lei, even with just herself? She always wondered that.
At lunch, Cammi refused to eat. She wasn't hungry. She barely chimed in on the latest gossip even the rumors about her being on drugs. Cammi knew what rumor was just that and what was real. She'd typically set the record straight but today took her off guard.
"Girl, you're totally buggin today. You still coming to Writer's Club?" Cammi's friend, Lona asked.
Cammi stared at Lona's bright orange, curly hair yearning to get her fingers through it. That girl wore it the same every day. Either in a loose ponytail or what Cammi called it a 'nun bun.' She didn't understand how someone could have such beautiful hair and let it go to waste like that.
"Yeah wouldn't miss it." Cammi responded.
The hallways were thinning as students and staff members made their way out of the building. In twenty minutes or so, the school would only contain a handful or two of people.
As the two walked the opposite direction of most of the school's population, Cammi tried engaging as much as possible in Lona's conversation. It was of course about the Writer's Club.
"Oh and then our excerpts was a piece of cake for me. Crazy, right?" Lona joked.
Cammi scrunched her eyes, "Excerpts? What excerpts?"
Lona playfully rolled her eyes and reminded. "Our mini assignment. Remember? You were totally..." While Lona was babbling on, Cammi remembered.
"Oh shit, I forgot. It's in my locket. Tell Henson don't start without me." Cammi did not wait for Lona to respond before bustling down the almost empty hallway.
She constantly readjusted her satchel as it slapped against her leg. Groaning as she wished her locker was on the same floor as Mrs. Henson's class. Mrs. Henson hated tardiness. When that woman expressed a discomfort, she was strict on everyone obeying. That was one person Cammi never tried to cross. The woman was sweet, but not when a rule was broken.
Cammi pushed the double doors open and continued down the second half of the hallway. Along the way a teacher tried to tell her to stop running, Cammi of course ignored. She saw the staircase come into view and felt little relief. Her locker was right above the class.
Heat filled her body as she skipped steps hurrying her way up. Missing a step, she stumbled over then rushed right back up, that happened a few times. Hopping off of the last step, she swiftly turned left then made a right at the corner. The hallway was empty of any being. Good for her. She picked up the pace and began searching for locker key as her blue locker came into view. Closing in on it, a warm familiar metal tapped her hand. Wrapping her fingers around it, Cammi dug it out.
It was a key to a friend's house. Carelessly, she tossed it back in. Now standing in front of her locker, Cammi lowered her head and widened her satchel's main entrance. She searched with both hands and shortly after found it in a corner of her bag.
She hurriedly unlocked her locker and as she pulled it open, a piece of paper slipped out. Cammi bent over and picked it up. It was a folded print paper. If it weren't for her name being on the outside of it, Cammi would have ignored it.
Unravelling it, the words were typed in the middle. What stunned her was the content:
'No good comes being involved with them. They are trouble. Stay away from them and nothing will happen to you.'
Looking around the deserted hallway, Cammi wondered was that some sick joke. Looking back at the paper, she furrowed her eyebrows. Was someone trying to scare her? Or did someone hate that she gossiped about them.
Then it clicked in Cammi's mind, Gretchen had major gossip on a few people. One of them must have overheard the conversation and didn't like it. Cammi rolled her eyes at how immature some people could be. Shoving it in her back pocket, she retrieved her typed excerpt and headed to the Writer's Club.
When she made it to the meeting, Mrs. Henson was discussing new projects. At least once a year they all wrote a book on the same general subject, then publish it. That was what Mrs. Henson had been planning for a month now. Their newest book. All their revenue went to a charity of their choice, it wasn't much, but at least it was something.
As always the desks were aligned into a small circle and Mrs. Henson sat in the middle in a rolling chair. Cammi dropped her belongings at the door and found an empty desk behind a student. She pulled it and nudged it between the small space between Lona and another student. Taking her seat, she silently thanked Lona for saving her a spot. She then tried to catch on to where they were now.
Mrs. Henson did not acknowledge Cammi's present and continued on talking. "We are still in the deciding factor of what the content will be on exactly. I've juggled around a few topics and ideas but ultimately, it is your choice."
A guy that joined the club just that year replied. "Why not a high school level? From your previous two, you've guys have covered the elementary and middle school. Let's do high school." His brown eyes looked around for support.
Cammi agreed when no one else spoke up. "Yeah, that's cool. And let's do mystery, being that I just got the weirdest note ever. Oh and from anonymous."
A few people cackled at that.
"Seriously?" Lona questioned.
Cammi nodded. "Yup, saw it when I was getting my excerpt."
Mrs. Henson then chimed in. "What did it contain? Should you be worried?" Adventurous. Wondrous. That was exactly what Mrs. Henson was. She may have been a strict freak, but she craved the edgy side. That's why Cammi liked her.
But did she want to disclose with the class what the note said? "Dunno. Threw it away and forgot. Nothing to stress over."
"Are you sure about that?" Lona questioned.
Cammi nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Lona looked around the small room and slapped her hands on her desk. "Well I think that is downright eerie. But that could be like a message from whatever God you believe in that mystery is our route. I mean, you know how many storylines can come out of that mysterious letter biz."
Someone joked. "Yeah another PLL spinoff and where we actually get our A."
Getting excited, Lona clapped her pale hands. "Dead on. I mean have any of you guys seen on the news lately about murderous friends? Its like girls band together and create a pact on how to perfectly execute their friend or foe. My mom's been chewing it up. That binger. Doing sick research on similar cases and watching like documentaries. Guess that goes with the job of being a cop. But I think it'd be a perfect idea to include Cammi's mysterious letter."
Cammi felt her insides quease. That made her wonder should she be worried. Looking at her black nail polish, she wondered if she should report it.
"Cammi?" When Cammi looked to Mrs. Henson, she continued. "Are you sure you don't remember anything on that note. Not just to help Lona's mystery crave but to ensure your safety."
Getting annoyed, Cammi blew out a frustrated breath. It was bad enough she had to remind herself, but Mrs. Henson was being persistent.
"Like I said, no. It was stupid." Standing, she kept her excerpt planted on the table. "Excuse me." She rushed to her satchel and backpack, then headed out of class. On her way out, she heard Mrs. Henson question her stability. But Cammi didn't care. Being in there made her feel cornered. They were trying to scare her. Someone was trying to scare her.
And it was working.
Outside the weather changed drastically, it was warm and beautiful, unlike earlier. Just what Cammi needed, great weather. Today was a stress and maybe the warm weather could change it around.
Slipping out of her black jacket, she tossed it over her shoulder.
Majority of the cars were gone, so it wasn't a struggle seeing her faded red jeep in the middle of the section the students labelled, 'Jungle Island.' It was where everyone that had ever gotten in trouble, parked, if they wanted.
She easily pulled her car keys out and unlocked it from a distant.
Cammi then stopped abruptly. She looked back to the school as if someone were watching her. Seeing nothing special behind her, she hurried to her car and rushed in. Before cranking it, she looked through the window and said. "I know who sent me that note."
Only then, after determination filled her, she started her car and drove off.
♀♀♀♀♀
It's a bit lengthy, sorry bout that. I do you guys enjoy it. Who do you think slipped that note into Cammi's locker? Is her theory right? Who does she think it is? Furthermore, what do you think about the story thus far? Feedback is always greatly appreciated!
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